Myriad of Artifices
by il.demone.vanga
Summary: Slight AU. Taniyama Mai, a transfer student, works part-time on SPR, almost no background info. Shady? Maybe. Who's the girl the SPR loves? Only Naru knows. Kind of. Find out as the story progresses. NOT A DARK!MAI. 1st Page is PROLOGUE. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! :) R
1. PROLOGUE

**First : **I'm in a site called Fanfiction.  
**Next : Obviously I don't own Ghost Hunt. **  
**Note : **This is an experimental Fic. My FIRST try in Ghost Hunt.

**Any character and events indicated in this fic other than Canon Ghost Hunt that is/are similar to real life/fiction are waiver-ed as my entire imagination unless stated otherwise.**

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**SUMMARY:**

**Taniyama Mai, a transfer student, works part-time on SPR, almost no background info. Shady? Maybe. Who's the girl the SPR loves? Only Naru knows. Kind of. Follow Mai and find out who she is as the story progresses.**

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**-PROLOGUE-**

October 27  
6:45 a.m.

(TIMELINE: Way before Naru and Mai meet at her school a.k.a File 1: Evil Spirits All Over!? _「Akuryou ga ippai!?」_ )

**RINGGG!**

"Oh, crap!", Mai said as she threw off her blanket and rushed to the bathroom. It was her first day on her new school and she's trying not to ruin it by getting late. She added finishing touches to her hair, skipped breakfast and hopped to the school bus. She was a bit nervous and excited at the same time that she didn't notice that they've already arrived in school.

"Oh", she said as she got off the bus and entered the gates. Everyone keeps on glancing at her as she went to her classroom. There she was greeted by annoying stares from her classmates. She sat at the back part of the room to avoid much of it.

After a while, she noticed a presence in her side. She looked up and found a guy standing there, staring at her. She saw a glimpse of her fellow classmates staring wild-eyed at her. There she realized that that seat was already owned by that guy. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought this was empty." Mai said to the guy as she stand up after picking up her things. The guy didn't say anything but walked away to another empty seat in the middle row. "Great, now what have I done", she muttered to herself. She shivered as she felt her classmates' glares boring holes in her back. '_Oh no. First day and I'm on their black books.' _It never occurred to her how literally right she was.

_'Newbie jitters, great. Just when did I turned pathetic?' s_he thought as she went up to introduce herself to her classmates. "Hello! I'm Mai Taniyama, nice to meet you all! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." she bowed, "Questions?"

A girl raised her hand.  
"Yes?"  
"Where are you from?"  
"Uhm, well, a lot of places actually. Let's just say I'm foreign."  
A collective _'Eh?' _was heard.

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Review please. Tell me if I should continue it.  
ANY KIND OF REVIEW/S are appreciated.**

**Thanks! :)**

**il**

**demone**

**vanga**

**V**


	2. Chapter 1: Catacombes de Paris

_To the beautiful princesses and handsome prince/s who reviewed (you're mostly all girls' right? I can't tell...T.T), , angels who followed this story, my heartfelt gratitude my dears._

_-sniff- only a couple of hours and there's a lot of feedback, ah, heaven… :)_

_(Btw, sorry for the sloppy and vague prologue, I typed out of whim after seeing Naru… on the House of Nightmare Series. :D)_

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**First : **I'm in a site called Fanfiction.  
**Next : Obviously I don't own Ghost Hunt. **  
**Note : **This is an experimental Fic. My FIRST try in Ghost Hunt.

**Any character and events indicated in this fic other than Canon Ghost Hunt that is/are similar to real life/fiction are waiver-ed as my entire imagination unless stated otherwise.**

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**CHAPTER 1**

**MONTHS(**_**A Year?**_**) AFTER (**_**somewhere along the new series' timeline**_**)…**

OCTOBER 29  
2:56 p.m.

The door opened with a jingle and Mai, who was slumped on her desk asleep, jerked up in her seat and faced the door groggily. "Irasshai!", she said as she rubbed her eyes and blinked at the newcomer, lips tugging into a wide smile. "Madoka!", Mai shouted as she scrambled in her seat to greet the newcomer with a huge hug.

"Mai," Madoka greeted back, "How's life? Is Naru still a pain in you knows where?"

Mai giggled. "Madoka, he might hear you!"

"Ah, don't worry, I'll come out unscathed, and he might have already heard it." Madoka said as they both looked on Naru's door, which was unfortunately now behind Naru who was looking at them with an impassive face.

Mai gulped.

Naru's eyes narrowed as he was assessing MaI's crumpled dress. "You slept." he said and turned to look at Madoka who was smiling, "And what are you doing here?"

"Hi, Noll!" Madoka greeted him.

"Mai, Tea." Naru ordered and entered his office.

"Hai." Mai replied as she scurried to the kitchenette. Arriving, she wasted no time in boiling water in the kettle as she grabbed a box of tea leaves on the cabinet and carefully placing china teacups on a tray. She added the tea leaves on the boiling water and waited. When the kettle whistled, she carefully took it from the stove, took a strainer and proceeded to pour the liquid into the small cups while straining them. She then made her way back, pausing on Lin's office where she could hear both Lin and Madoka talking, actually just Madoka. She knocked on the door telling them about the tea and waited to be invited in. After delivering both of Lin's and Madoka's tea, she made her way to her boss' office, grimacing at the fact that she'll be reprimanded. Her hand was halfway on reaching the door to knock when she heard Naru's voice telling her to come in. She gulped the second time that day and opened the door.

Naru looked up from the file he was reading and took a sip of the tea that was put on his desk. He watched Mai as she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "I know for a fact that you were sleeping on your desk in the middle of working hours. I don't care if there seems to be a lack of clients during these hours. Avoid taking a rest in the middle of work." He said in a cold tone.

"H-hai, Naru. Sumimasen."Mai said with a bow.

"You're dismissed." She heard Naru say and she made her way to the door. She met Madoka outside Naru's door who saw Mai's sad face.

"Mai, are you alright? Geez, never mind what Naru said, he's actually grumpy because I'm here with a case." Madoka said.

"A case?" Mai asked curiously, her sadness seem forgotten.

"Yup, a case. So better cheer up because we're going abroad!" Madoka cheerfully said.

"Eh? Abroad? Where?" Mai asked.

"Paris." Madoka answered flashing a bright smile.

"Woah, Paris? But, will Naru accept that case? It's just so sudden." Mai asked with uncertainty. She would likely want to go there but talking about Naru, she doubt he'll accept cases from abroad.

"Of course! Naru can't say no to me. I'm going to pester him until he concedes. Besides, his parents sanctioned it. Also, with that government agent hot on our tracks, it's better to lie low for a while. Considering Noll doesn't like to attract attention here, specially the press. If word spreads out that Oliver Davis is here under a pseudonym in Japan, I doubt they'll hold back." Madoka said.

"Yeah, a Psychic Phenomena Investigative Office run by Naru in his age, especially when people knew him as Shibuya Kazuya, it's quite shady. Also, I doubt with our tax statistics helps us up. We do generate an awful lot of money and it shows in there." Mai added and sighed, "Fine, you're right."

"Very well then, I'll tell Mr. Grumpy-Pants the case, so better cheer up!" Madoka said cheerfully.

"Okay" Mai answered, smiling brightly at Madoka. She then went back to her desk, thinking. She fumed. _'That Naru! He's thankful because I was still groggy with sleep that I turned emotional! It's not my fault that I've got online lessons, especially at night. He knows I'm a cross-enrollee for heaven's sake! Argh! He's so frustrating!'_, she thought, eye twitching.

**A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER…**

Naru came out of his office with a huge scowl on his face followed closely with a very happy Madoka.

"Mai, call the others. Ask them if they have passports. If they do, tell them we have a case. Have them meet us tomorrow at the airport nine o'clock sharp." Naru ordered.

"Hai." Mai answered and turned to make the calls, "Wait, tomorrow?"

"I believe I didn't stutter."

"Why you!"

After making the calls Mai learned all the others will be going, even Masako. _'This will be fun. Wait, we still didn't know the details of the case!"_ she turned to find both Naru and Madoka both gone and sighed,_' I guess we'll know the details tomorrow."_

"Mai, tea." came an order from Naru.

She shuffled to Naru's door to knock and was admitted inside. She placed the tea in his desk and saw Naru take a sip from it.

"Mai."

"Yes Naru?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Meet me and Lin here at the office tomorrow. You will be riding with us to the airport."

"Hai."

"What will you use on the tickets?"

"Oh, that. My real name, since that's what's written on my passport."

"Very well, you're dismissed early to pack up. I don't want to wait here tomorrow for hours."

"Thank you Naru." Mai replied sarcastically. "Oh, about the details of the case, are you going to tell us tomorrow?"

"If we have time."

"Okay, I'll be going then. See you tomorrow Naru!"

**THE NEXT DAY…**

OCTOBER 30

7:15 a.m.

Mai sighed in the car as they travel from Shibuya to Haneda Airport for about an hour and a half. With her earphones on, she tried to entertain herself by humming. Minutes passed and she was singing along with the song which unfortunately for her greatly irritated Naru.

"Mai, stop singing. It hurts my ears." Naru said as he took Mai's earphones off.

"But Naru…" Mai pouted,"I'm bored. You and Lin-san are so quiet. Do you think I'll last for another hour?"

"That isn't my problem Mai. Go entertain yourself without bothering us."

"But-"

"No buts."

"Fine." Mai answered grumpily. A few minutes of staring out of the windshield without any other source of entertainment made her sleepy. She tried to stifle a yawn but to no avail. Her eyes slowly drooping to a close as she finally succumbed to sleep with her head on Naru's shoulder.

Naru glanced at the sleeping Mai on his shoulder and sighed. _"This would be a long ride.' He thought._

**AT THE AIRPORT…**

"Jou-chan!" Takigawa said as he pulled Mai into a bear hug as he saw her at the airport.

"Bou-san. C-Can't breathe."Mai wheezed out as she struggled out of Takigawa's bone crushing hug.

"Let the poor girl go you perverted old man!" Ayako said as she raised her purse and tried to hit Takigawa. Clue: tried. She hit air because Takigawa already ducked, anticipating her move.

Takigawa let Mai go smiling before turning to Naru and said, "I'm not even fluent in English and now we're going to France. I don't understand French. How are we going to converse? Ne, Naru-bou?"

Naru faced them and said, "As Takigawa-san stated, most of you aren't well versed in English, and might have not known an inkling of French, that's why I propose that we'll have the upcoming conversations translated for you to understand and participate."

**FEW MINUTES LATER…**

_'Wow, first-class seats for all of us huh. Naru is really loaded.'_ Takigawa thought as he eased himself in his seat on the airplane. "Ne, Naru-bou. We still don't have the case details. Can you share?" he asked. There were only a few other persons on the first-class cabin and besides the team were all huddled in the back.

"Since this is a public place," Naru glared at Takigawa. "I can only divulge a few details of the case. First is that our destination is the Catacombs of Paris."

"Catacombs?" Mai asked beside Naru. She was situated by the window and was happily looking outside before Takigawa inquired about the case.

"The Catacombs of Paris, also known as _l'Ossuaire Municipal_, are used to be underground stone quarries created at the end of the 18th century and made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains of approximately six million Parisians." Naru supplied.

"No wonder there are a lot of paranormal activity in there." Mai said. "Anything else?"

"Other details are for private conversations only. We'll discuss it once we reach our destination. So you better sleep already. We still have a lot of hours before we land and I don't want you singing your lungs out in here." Naru quipped.

"Why you! Jerk!" Mai retorted under her breathe.

"I heard that Mai."

With that, Mai imagined ways to throttle Naru.

"By the way, there's a television on that panel over there."

"Why didn't you say earlier?"

"I thought your brain would know what a television is."

"JERK!" Mai exclaimed as she raised her fists and stand to face Naru, only to be restricted by her seatbelt.

"Idiot."

"Damn handsome bastard."

"You still have good taste."

"Oh heavens just kill me now."

"With pleasure."

Mai sighed and rolled her eyes. She then proceeded to forget their argument and went to watch the movie being played on the screen. After a while, her eyelids began to grow heavy and she felt sleep overcome her.

**Dream Sequence…**

**(A/N: I got no idea if Gene shows up in the Agawa case, so bear with me if I try to manipulate it in here.)**

_Mai woke up in a dark void. She turned to sit and saw white orbs floating up all around her. She then saw a silhouette of a man walking closer to her. At first she got scared but as the person closed in she felt the familiar presence comforting. "Gene." she exclaimed as the said person came into full view._

_ "Hello Mai." Gene replied with a smile gracing his features. "Long time no see."_

_"Wha-… How come you're here?" Mai exclaimed, eyes huge as saucers._

_ "Well, since I'm dead and can't astral-project, I should be somewhere in here." He replied in a tease._

_ "That's not what I mean. I already know that. What I mean is, haven't you already moved on? After your body was laid to rest back in England and we got a few cases back in Japan you never showed up. We all thought you've really moved on after that. And by the way, you're turning into a cheeky bastard like Naru. Heaven knows I have enough of him to deal with back in the living world." Mai said._

_ "Well, I thought so too. But I learned that spirit guides don't usually move on when their bodies are laid to rest. It's kind of a job/duty that we need to fulfill. In other words, staying in this realm won't turn me into a bad spirit." Gene explained._

_ "Really? How so?" she asked._

_ "I don't really know how it works. It's just how it is."_

_ "Okay. So, uh, I guess we aren't here just to chat. Is there something you're going to show me?"_

_ "You bet Mai." Gene chuckled, "Come, let me show you."_

_ Mai grasped the hand Gene reached out to her and together they walk the void which after a while morphed into a scene._

_ "Where are we?" she asked. In front of them was a spacious cavern. What took her interest; or rather what shook her to the core was what was lined on the walls. Piles of human bones were on neat array and displayed in a manner that it looks like another wall only that it is made up of bones. Rows of skulls were facing them. The hollow cavities for the eyes look spooky with the shadow and flickering light dancing inside. And all the while they could hear an eerie piano music being played in the background. _

_ "The Catacombs." Gene replied._

_ All of a sudden she could hear the shuffling of feet on the adjoining cavern. A new kind of light brightened the premises, this one coming from a flashlight. She could hear the whimper of the girl walking towards them, clearly lost. Just as then, she saw a shadow moving from one of the corners to the crying girl. The path on which the shadow took enveloped the area with a darkness that is clearly ethereal; like it was sucking all the light and the beam of light the girl's flashlight produced clearly isn't able to penetrate it. The girl, shaken, had her knees give up on her and buckled down. A piercing scream was elicited from her lips and was cut off as soon as the shadow enveloped her, though its echoes were still ringing across the chambers. _

_ Mai, frozen with fear from where she was standing beside Gene, could only faint into Gene's arms._

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**Review please. Tell me if I should continue it.  
ANY KIND OF REVIEW/S are appreciated.**

**DISCLAIMER : I don't own the Catacombs of Paris. It is a real-life location and Naru's account of it in this Chapter is based on real information I've collected online.**

**P.S. Do you think I need a Beta? And please kindly point out any mistakes. I know I tend to ignore tenses.  
And I suck at conversations. Clearly shows right? I'm only good at descriptions. Maybe.  
Oh, are the characters alright? OOC? I'm trying to make Naru like in the manga.**

**Thanks! :)**

**il**

**demone**

**vanga**

**V**


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